How Is Blockchain Enhancing iGaming Features

Blockchain is the technology that underpins cryptocurrency. Without it, there would be no Bitcoin. It is, effectively, a digital ledger with immutable records. Its features mean that it has also found use across a variety of other industries. It can be used to store and share records from personal medical records to property deeds. It can also be used to tokenize physical assets, effectively allowing the provenance and simple trading of items like fine art and gold.

Blockchain’s digital framework also makes it ideal in predominantly digital industries like gaming and iGaming. More and more online casinos are introducing and using blockchain for the many benefits it offers.

Blockchain And iGaming 

The most common way iGaming websites have introduced blockchain is through the acceptance of cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals, such as on platforms like Golden Panda Casino; on these websites, players can enjoy traditional and modern casino games, including table games and slots while enjoying cross-border payments that are cheaper and faster than fiat payments. However, these are only a few ways in which blockchain can facilitate iGaming. Let’s see what else we have on the table. 

Improved Security

Blockchain uses advanced encryption to secure transactions. As well as using encrypted data transfers, blockchain records are immutable. This means records cannot be deleted or altered once created. Records are virtually impossible to manipulate. Blockchain is decentralized, with users around the world working to maintain the network, and not reliant on a single store of data.

Theoretically, networks can manipulate or intercept transactions, but it requires the cooperation of multiple users across the network, who are assigned anonymously – network users who don’t know one another and have no means of direct communication.

This decentralized structure is also what makes cryptocurrency such a secure option. Whereas traditional transactions can potentially be hacked, cryptocurrency and all blockchain payments are more secure.

Cryptocurrency also helps improve iGaming security because players do not need to add their bank account or card details to their gaming accounts. This means that even if thieves do gain access to the casino’s website, the most they can really get away with is the cryptocurrency in a player’s account. Players do not need to have registered personal details, either, so data theft is kept to a minimum.

Pseudonymous Payments

Users send cryptocurrency payments using crypto wallets, with the payment being sent from the payer’s wallet to the payee’s wallet. Wallets do not require the use of personal details, and the only personal information that is transmitted or exchanged during a transaction is the wallet addresses of the sender and recipient.

Typically, wallet addresses are not associated with individuals. While blockchain records, and therefore cryptocurrency payments, can be viewed on blockchain networks, they do not give away any personal information about the sender or recipient.

It is possible with some cryptocurrencies, and extensive research, to link accounts, and because government agencies may have access to some data from exchanges, with the right warrants and permissions, it is possible to locate the source of payments as well as recipients.

However, modern wallets typically allow the creation of new wallet addresses. Users can receive payment to one wallet address and then use a different address when sending that payment to a third party. And there are so-called privacy coins. These coins use ring signatures, stealth addresses, and other tactics to help ensure even greater privacy for their users.

Faster Payouts

One of the reasons for the growing popularity of cryptocurrency is that it offers much faster payments than traditional payment methods. Sending credit card or bank transfer payments to iGaming sites, especially offshore sites, can take two to three days or longer. Similarly, withdrawals can take several days to process before they are available to the player.

Digital wallets can offer faster service times but are not widely accepted by all online casinos. Cryptocurrency payment times do vary, according to the currency used as well as how busy the network is and the gas fee paid by the sender, but some payments can be completed in just a few seconds. Actual payment times also depend on the online casino being used.

Some casinos batch-process payments once a day, which means even crypto payments can take up to a day to process. VIP and loyalty programs can offer quicker withdrawal times, and some online casinos use smart contracts, which are established on blockchain to automatically process payment requests as soon as they are received.

Global Access

Another reason for the popularity of cryptocurrency is that its fast payments are submitted and processed at the same speed regardless of where in the world the sender and recipient are located.

This means that a crypto payment can be sent to the other side of the world in the same time it takes to send a payment down the road. This is especially useful when playing at offshore casinos. An offshore casino is licensed and located in a different country from where the player lives.

Even if players live in jurisdictions where online gambling is restricted, they can still legitimately play at some licensed offshore casinos by depositing and withdrawing using cryptocurrency instead of fiat currency. Cryptos are not local currencies, either, so there’s no need to exchange from Bitcoin to a local crypto coin.

Services For The Underbanked

1.5 to 2 billion people in the world are described as being either unbanked or underbanked. Unbanked citizens are those with no basic banking facilities. This means they have no bank account to receive money or to spend or use money. They typically have to rely on cash and cheque payments.

Cryptocurrency has been heralded as a solution for unbanked people. Underbanked citizens are those with only very basic banking facilities. In some cases, this means that it isn’t possible to withdraw money to bank cards, and payments to online casinos might be restricted.

Some basic accounts even place daily and weekly deposit and withdrawal limits. Cryptocurrency has no such limits, so the only limits that crypto casino players are bound by are those set by the casinos and the players themselves.

Greater Transparency

Fairness in iGaming is important. Most licensing authorities require that casinos prove the fairness of their games. They must display things like Return To Player ratios and then use a third-party analyst to check the data matches.

Players also want to see that the casinos they are using are fair, but while it is difficult for traditional online casinos to show these details, those using blockchain can create immutable records from every gaming transaction. These are not only verifiable by analysts but can be displayed and shared with prospective players.

This can be a great way for casinos to show they really do pay out the big prizes, and it gives players confidence knowing that the casinos they play at do meet the RTP rates and other ratios on their sites.  

Smart Contracts

Smart contracts are digital contracts set up on blockchain. When certain, agreed criteria are met, the next stage of the contract is established. A very simple smart contract is used on decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges. Two users agree to a trade, for example, one trader agrees to buy one Bitcoin for $100,000 from another trader. A contract is set up so that when both parties submit their half of the exchange, the contract completes and the assets are forwarded to the other party.

Smart contracts can be much more complex. They can even be used to monitor and determine online casino bonuses. For example, a contract can be established when a new player signs up. The contract might dictate that when that player has deposited $100 in Bitcoin, they will receive an additional $200 of Bitcoin in their account.

Wagering requirements can also be included as smart contracts, so the player is unable to withdraw their winnings until they have wagered the bonus value twenty times or more. With no need for manual verification or applications, smart contracts lead to smoother transactions with fewer friction points.

NFT Integration

Non-fungible tokens are digital assets, such as digital artwork, music, or memes. They are minted, or recorded, on blockchain. When the NFT changes hands, so does the key to the NFT. Records are immutable which means there is no risk of fraud, and because NFTs are unique, they can hold some value.

NFTs saw their peak a few years ago, in terms of the high prices of some individual assets being sold, but the market has settled down somewhat. Today, NFTs are finding their feet and being used in unique ways across multiple industries. They are becoming popular in video games, where they can be used as in-game assets.

NFTs can also form a substantial and beneficial part of loyalty programs and other forms of gamification used by casinos to draw players in and keep them on the site.

Better Bonuses And Increased RTP

Smart contracts, NFTs, lower processing fees, and improved cash flow, all of which are offered by cryptocurrencies and blockchain networks, effectively lead to reduced expenditure and improved income for iGaming websites.

Ultimately, this means that crypto casinos have more money to offer as bonuses and lower overheads means they can offer better RTP rates than traditional online casinos.

You will see crypto casinos offering better new-player bonuses, like first-deposit bonuses. A lot of these sites also offer improved reload bonuses, too.

Conclusion

Blockchain is secure, pseudonymous, and fast. It is being used in the financial industry, as well as in real estate, healthcare, and many other industries. One industry where it is seeing increased use is in the iGaming sector, which combines financial and gaming elements.

Using blockchain, payments have become quicker, games have become more transparent, and casino games have become more accessible to more people around the world. What’s more, we’ve really only started to see the ways companies can innovate using this new technology, so we are bound to see further improvements and benefits in the coming years.